Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. Reports First Quarter Results; Net Income up 122%

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE:RS) reported today its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010. For the 2010 first quarter, Reliance reported net income of $44.7 million, up 122% from 2009 first quarter net income of $20.1 million. Earnings per diluted share were $.60 in the 2010 first quarter, up 122% from 2009 first quarter earnings per diluted share of $.27. Sales for the 2010 first quarter were $1.45 billion, down 7% from 2009 first quarter sales of $1.56 billion, and up 14% from 2009 fourth quarter sales of $1.27 billion. The 2010 first quarter financial results include in cost of sales a pre-tax LIFO charge, or expense of $5 million, compared with a pre-tax LIFO credit, or income of $75.0 million for the 2009 first quarter. The LIFO adjustments, in effect, reflect cost of sales at current replacement costs.

Reliance's tons sold for the 2010 first quarter were down 2% from the 2009 first quarter and up 9% from the 2009 fourth quarter. Average prices per ton sold in the 2010 first quarter were down 5% compared to the 2009 first quarter and up 5% compared to the 2009 fourth quarter. For the 2010 first quarter, carbon steel sales were 52% of net sales; aluminum sales were 19%; stainless steel sales were 15%; alloy sales were 8%; other sales were 4% and toll processing sales were 2%.

David H. Hannah, Chairman and CEO of Reliance said, "Business conditions continued to improve during the 2010 first quarter, allowing us to increase our FIFO gross profit margin to 26.3% compared to 17.9% in the 2009 first quarter and 25.0% in the 2009 fourth quarter. Our sales dollars and tons shipped per day were our highest monthly amounts since February 2009. Demand continues to improve in most of our end markets, however it is still at relatively low historical levels. Pricing for most of our products has increased to relatively healthy levels and current pricing volatility is manageable. Our 2010 first quarter results prove that the swift, albeit difficult, actions that we took over the past six quarters positioned us to operate at profitable levels even in this low demand environment. We were able to significantly improve our earnings even as our revenue dollars decreased compared to the 2009 first quarter."

"We continue to anticipate that demand for most of our products will recover slowly and steadily as the year progresses, with the exception of non-residential construction, where we expect some further weakness, although we believe we are close to the bottom. We also expect pricing to remain at or near current levels during the 2010 second quarter, with the possibility of some downward pressure in the 2010 second half. One of the important catalysts for pricing in the second half will be the amount of real demand improvement, especially in light of some additional domestic carbon steel capacity entering the market at the producer level. This generally improving environment should allow us to continue to show modest improvements in our financial results for the 2010 second quarter. At this time, we estimate earnings per diluted share in a range of $.70 to $.80 for the 2010 second quarter," concluded Hannah.

On April 21, 2010, the Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $.10 per share of common stock. The dividend is payable on June 23, 2010 to shareholders of record June 2, 2010. The Company has paid regular quarterly dividends for 51 consecutive years.

Reliance will host a conference call that will be broadcast live over the Internet (listen only mode) regarding the first quarter financial results for the period ended March 31, 2010. All interested parties are invited to listen to the web cast on April 22, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time at: http://www.rsac.com on the Investor Information section or http://www.streetevents.com. Player format: Windows Media and RealPlayer. The web cast will remain on the Reliance web site at: www.rsac.com on the Investor Information section through May 22, 2010 and a printed transcript will be posted on the Reliance web site after the completion of the conference call.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., headquartered in Los Angeles, California, is the largest metals service center company in North America. Through a network of more than 200 locations in 38 states and Belgium, Canada, China, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, the Company provides value-added metals processing services and distributes a full line of over 100,000 metal products to more than 125,000 customers in a broad range of industries.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.'s press releases and additional information are available on the Company's web site at www.rsac.com. The Company was named to the 2010 "Fortune 500" List, the 2009 Forbes "America's Best Managed Companies" List, the 2010 Fortune List of "The World's Most Admired Companies," and the 2009 Forbes "Platinum 400 List of America's Best Big Companies."

This release may contain forward-looking statements. Actual results and events may differ materially as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are outside of Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.'s control. Risk factors and additional information are included in Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.'s reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.

RELIANCE STEEL & ALUMINUM CO.

SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)

                                              Three Months

                                              Ended March 31,

                                              2010                2009

     Income Statement Data:

     Net sales                                $ 1,454,075         $ 1,558,535

     Gross profit1                              378,113             354,442

     Operating income                           79,761              47,961

     Pre-tax income                             65,805              30,569

     Net income attributable to Reliance        44,650              20,118

     Diluted earnings per share
     attributable to Reliance                 $ 0.60              $ 0.27
     shareholders

     Weighted average shares outstanding        74,184,403          73,323,713
     - diluted

     Gross profit margin1                       26.0       %        22.7       %

     Operating income margin                    5.5        %        3.1        %

     Pre-tax income margin                      4.5        %        2.0        %

     Net income margin - Reliance               3.1        %        1.3        %

     Cash dividends per share                 $ 0.10              $ 0.10

                                              March 31,           December 31,

                                              2010                2009

     Balance Sheet and Other Data:

     Current assets                           $ 1,660,930         $ 1,390,904

     Working capital                            1,116,276           973,335

     Property, plant and equipment, net         982,505             981,259

     Total assets                               4,571,701           4,306,777

     Current liabilities                        544,654             417,569

     Long-term debt2                            931,428             852,557

     Total Reliance shareholders' equity        2,663,721           2,606,432

     Capital expenditures (year-to-date)        23,051              69,901

     Cash (used in) provided by                 (54,265    )        942,996
     operations (year-to-date)

     Net debt-to-total capital3                 26.6       %        25.6       %

     Return on Reliance shareholders'           6.6        %        6.1        %
     equity4

     Current ratio                              3.0                 3.3

     Book value per share                     $ 35.95             $ 35.34



1 Gross profit, calculated as Net sales less Cost of sales, and Gross profit margin, calculated as Gross profit divided by Net sales, are non-GAAP financial measures as they exclude depreciation and amortization expense associated with the corresponding sales. The majority of our orders are basic distribution with no processing services performed. For the remainder of our sales orders, we perform "first-stage" processing which is generally not labor intensive as we are simply cutting the metal to size. Because of this, the amount of related labor and overhead, including depreciation and amortization, are not significant and are excluded from our Cost of sales. Therefore, our Cost of sales is primarily comprised of the cost of the material we sell. We use Gross profit and Gross profit margin as shown above as measures of operating performance. Gross profit and Gross profit margin are important operating and financial measures, as fluctuations in our Gross profit margin can have a significant impact on our earnings. Gross profit and Gross profit margin, as presented, are not necessarily comparable with similarly titled measures for other companies.

2 Long-term debt includes capital lease obligations of $3,018 and $3,182 as of March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009, respectively.

3 Net debt-to-total capital is calculated as total debt (net of cash) divided by total Reliance shareholders' equity plus total debt (net of cash).

4 Calculations are based on the latest twelve months net income and beginning total Reliance shareholders' equity.

RELIANCE STEEL & ALUMINUM CO.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, except share amounts)

ASSETS

                                               March 31,          December 31,

                                               2010               2009

                                               (Unaudited)

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents                      $ 52,306           $ 43,002

Accounts receivable, less allowance for
doubtful accounts of $19,394 at March 31,        691,983            533,871
2010 and $21,269 at December 31, 2009

Inventories                                      845,275            719,915

Prepaid expenses and other current assets        35,057             40,096

Income taxes receivable                          36,309             54,020

Total current assets                             1,660,930          1,390,904

Property, plant and equipment:

Land                                             131,172            131,009

Buildings                                        555,926            543,590

Machinery and equipment                          838,906            829,154

Accumulated depreciation                         (543,499  )        (522,494  )

                                                 982,505            981,259

Goodwill                                         1,082,469          1,081,324

Intangible assets, net                           720,582            726,255

Cash surrender value of life insurance           90,522             92,860
policies, net

Investments in unconsolidated entities           21,225             20,880

Other assets                                     13,468             13,295

Total assets                                   $ 4,571,701        $ 4,306,777

LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

Current liabilities:

Accounts payable                               $ 299,294          $ 169,113

Accrued expenses                                 51,052             51,730

Deferred revenue                                 3,580              3,534

Accrued compensation and retirement costs        63,579             67,012

Accrued insurance costs                          39,552             39,134

Current maturities of long-term debt             86,934             86,383

Current maturities of capital lease              663                663
obligations

Total current liabilities                        544,654            417,569

Long-term debt                                   928,410            849,375

Capital lease obligations                        3,018              3,182

Long-term retirement costs and other             94,405             92,632
long-term liabilities

Deferred income taxes                            335,466            335,897

Commitments and contingencies

Reliance shareholders' equity:

Preferred stock, no par value:

Authorized shares -- 5,000,000

None issued or outstanding                       --                 --

Common stock, no par value:

Authorized shares -- 100,000,000

Issued and outstanding shares --
74,103,570 at March 31, 2010 and                 600,073            587,612
73,750,771 at December 31, 2009, stated
capital

Retained earnings                                2,059,953          2,020,343

Accumulated other comprehensive income           3,695              (1,523    )
(loss)

Total Reliance shareholders' equity              2,663,721          2,606,432

Noncontrolling interests                         2,027              1,690

Total equity                                     2,665,748          2,608,122

Total liabilities and equity                   $ 4,571,701        $ 4,306,777



RELIANCE STEEL & ALUMINUM CO.

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)

                                              Three Months Ended

                                              March 31,

                                              2010                2009

Net sales                                     $ 1,454,075         $ 1,558,535

Costs and expenses:

Cost of sales (exclusive of depreciation        1,075,962           1,204,093
and amortization shown below)

Warehouse, delivery, selling, general           269,274             276,634
and administrative

Depreciation and amortization                   29,078              29,847

                                                1,374,314           1,510,574

Operating income                                79,761              47,961

Other income (expense):

Interest                                        (15,083    )        (19,316    )

Other income, net                               1,127               1,924

Income before income taxes                      65,805              30,569

Income tax provision                            20,818              10,181

Net income                                      44,987              20,388

Less: Net income attributable to the            337                 270
noncontrolling interests

Net income attributable to Reliance           $ 44,650            $ 20,118

Earnings per share:

Diluted earnings per common share             $ 0.60              $ 0.27
attributable to Reliance shareholders

Weighted average shares outstanding -           74,184,403          73,323,713
diluted

Basic earnings per common share               $ 0.60              $ 0.27
attributable to Reliance shareholders

Weighted average shares outstanding -           73,862,445          73,317,140
basic

Cash dividends per share                      $ 0.10              $ 0.10



RELIANCE STEEL & ALUMINUM CO.

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

                                                  Three Months Ended

                                                  March 31,

                                                  2010              2009

Operating activities:

Net income                                        $ 44,987          $ 20,388

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net
cash (used in) provided by operating
activities:

Depreciation and amortization                       29,078            29,847

Deferred income tax benefit                         (486     )        (1,472   )

Loss (gain) on sales of property, plant and         101               (117     )
equipment

Equity in earnings of unconsolidated                (665     )        (65      )
entities

Dividends received from unconsolidated              320               --
entities

Stock based compensation expense                    3,698             3,597

Excess tax benefits from stock based                (2,343   )        --
compensation

Net loss from life insurance policies               582               1,386

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

Accounts receivable                                 (157,568 )        160,041

Inventories                                         (124,973 )        194,719

Prepaid expenses and other assets                   22,699            (3,671   )

Accounts payable and other liabilities              130,305           (90,120  )

Net cash (used in) provided by operating            (54,265  )        314,533
activities

Investing activities:

Purchases of property, plant and equipment          (23,051  )        (15,172  )

Proceeds from sales of property, plant and          672               353
equipment

Net proceeds from redemption of life                1,756             2,463
insurance policies

Net cash used in investing activities               (20,623  )        (12,356  )

Financing activities:

Proceeds from borrowings                            150,478           102,000

Principal payments on long-term debt and            (71,237  )        (411,625 )
short-term borrowings

Payments to noncontrolling interest holders         --                (735     )

Dividends paid                                      (7,383   )        (7,332   )

Excess tax benefit from stock based                 2,343             --
compensation

Exercise of stock options                           8,763             62

Issuance of common stock                            --                258

Noncontrolling interest purchase                    --                (2,506   )

Net cash provided by (used in) financing            82,964            (319,878 )
activities

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash             1,228             (651     )

Increase (decrease) in cash and cash                9,304             (18,352  )
equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of           43,002            51,995
year

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year          $ 52,306          $ 33,643

Supplemental cash flow information:

Interest paid during the year                     $ 2,111           $ 15,074

Income taxes paid during the year                 $ 1,692           $ 19,087



    Source: Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.